Iran, isolated for long, is too happy to have new trading partners and some source of international legitimacy. The Israel-Hamas war have underscored the widening differences between the West on one side and Russia and China on the other. For Putin, the war has presented another opportunity for gloating, as he blames Washington for the conflict. The Global South is a vital area of new competition between the West and the Chinese-Russian alternative, said Hanna Notte of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. For many in Global South, she said, "the US fights Russia, the occupier of Ukraine, but when it comes to Israel, it is on the side of the occupier, and Russia taps into that."

Source: International New York Times October 19, 2023 12:21 UTC